Florence
by Ewanfan
Summary: I know it's been done before, but I would never be satisfied unless I tried it out myself.
1. Chapter 1

He would arrive earlier. That was the plan. He would check into the hotel and wait for her. He offered to meet her at the airport but she said if he waited at the hotel she would be fine. He would have already been in an airport for way too long after his flight from Massachusetts. And she was right. He had a seven-hour flight from Cambridge to New York City and from there it was eight hours to Florence.

However, waiting in the hotel was just as excruciating for him. He knew that he would have to wait even longer to see her and he wasn't really sure what to do with his time. He glanced at his Mickey Mouse watch. Her flight was supposed to arrive at 6:30 and it was 7:00 now. She would be here any minute. He hoped so. It had been a month since they first met and last saw each other. A long month, indeed. He looked around at the hotel room, but it only made him more nervous. They had put him up in the biggest suite at the hotel but the biggest suite only contained one king sized bed. He turned away from its flowing canopy curtains and looked to the coffee table in front of the couch where he sat. He had placed a bottle of wine and two glasses to go with it. He wondered if she would think that was strange. He had broken a sweat now so he slipped off his tweed suit jacket and began to pace. He couldn't watch tv to calm his nerves; it was in Italian and he certainly would not understand a word. His Italian was terrible and so was his French. He was incredibly thankful that she was fluent in Italian, French, but most importantly, English.

There was a knock on the door. He jumped a bit and tried not to jog to answer it. He turned the knob and there she was. She looked the same only she was wearing different clothes- a pair of jeans and a white button up top. She smiled widely and she was just as beautiful as he had remembered her to be.

"Robert," she chuckled as if he were an old friend. She pulled him in for a hug and he willingly accepted.

"Sophie," he said. "It's so good to see you." He didn't want to, but he let go of her to help her with her luggage. He carried all three bags in and set them on the bed.

"It's good to see you too," she said with a grin. "I missed you." As she looked around the room, Robert waited for her reaction to the bed. "It's beautiful!" She walked to the window and opened it to step onto the balcony. He followed her.

"You like it?" Robert asked, though he already knew the answer. He was somewhat relaxed now. He had played the situation out to be a much more awkward scene, but he should have known better. Nothing had ever been outstandingly awkward between him and Sophie.

"I love it! Thank you so much for inviting me." She smiled again and he smiled back.

"How have you been?" he asked, reaching out to the scar on her neck left by the Opus Dei monk. She put her hand over his.

"Fine. It has healed mostly. And you?" Sophie removed his hand from her neck but continued to hold it tightly.

"Great. Really great," he said, but what he really meant was that he was great now. He was worried, however, that his hand was shaking. Or was it too sweaty? It had been so long since he had begun a lasting relationship with a woman that he was back to thoughts that one would have had in Middle School. Not that _he_ had those thoughts at 13 because he was always the one in the library with his nose in history textbooks or biographies on Leonardo da Vinci or Galileo. Girls didn't come into his life until _much _later.

Neither of them spoke a word, but stared at each other with smiles on their faces. Robert didn't know what to do next. He wondered if telling her about the wine would lead her to believe that he had intentions for the evening.

"So Robert, no interesting historical facts to tell me? No puzzles we can solve?" she asked playfully with a giggle. If he hadn't been so nervous he would have realized she was flirting.

"No. I'm not that boring," he answered, feeling like a fool. She laughed and squeezed his hand.

"I know, I know."

"We never really got to know each other…" he began.

"And yet we did. I trust you," she interrupted. He smiled and was happy she had finished his sentence. He wouldn't have known what to say next. Her smile faded. "You have not told anyone?"

"No, no. Of course not," he assured her. She nodded and looked into the room. Her smile reappeared.

"Oh, come here," she said with excitement as she led him back into the hotel room. The bed did not faze her as she walked over to her bags resting on its golden comforter. She rummaged through her olive green suitcases until she pulled out a tiny paperback book. "I brought this for you. Voila!" She handed it to him and he smiled as he read the title.

_Puzzles, Labyrinthes, et Codes_

"Il est en francais, mais, tu es un homme intelligent, non?" she giggled biting her lip. He wanted so badly to thank her with a kiss but couldn't bring himself to do it, which was no surprise considering he was still hung up about the wine. He smiled again.

"Thank you, Sophie. Maybe we can do some together?" He regretted the words instantly. Robert thought he sounded like a teenager.

"Oui, bien sur." She didn't seem to mind. As he stood there flipping through the pages of the book, Sophie walked over to the couch where she sat to remove her black high-heeled pumps. As she curled her legs beneath her, she teased, "Robert, you bought wine? Why didn't you offer me any?" He sighed in relief that she had brought it up and not him. "If you're saving it… that's ok too."

"No, no. I'm sorry. I just completely forgot. Here." He walked over to the couch and poured a glass. He handed it to her and poured his own. Then he sat down at the opposite end of the love seat to take a sip.

"Mmm, c'est pas mauvais. Good job, Robert," she teased. He smiled and worried that he was blushing. _I'm worse than some of the giggling freshman in my symbology class,_ he thought. He prayed that Sophie would not notice. "So what are we going to do this week? Where will we go?"

"I don't know. I figured we could play it by ear. We've been running around a lot and I thought this would be some nice time off."

"Oui, bonne idee. But what is 'play it by ear'?" She blushed slightly and Robert could tell she probably hated to have things explained to her. She seemed embarrassed that she did not know already.

"It means decide as it comes. We can decide what to do day by day," he explained. He felt more comfortable explaining because he was expressing fact rather than emotion; something he couldn't be judged on and that wouldn't ruin his chances with Sophie.

"Ah, c'est vrai? C'est bizarre! Les personnes des Etats-Unis sont tres interessants. Je sais souvent…"

"You know I have know idea what you're saying," Robert pointed out. She laughed.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to speak in English." They both looked down at their wine glasses._ I shouldn't have said that,_ he thought. "I'm happy I'm here," she stated, looking back up to him.

"I'm happy you're here too," he said with a smile. She began to move closer to him on the couch but then the phone rang. Robert jumped up to answer it. "Hello?"

It turned out to be his publisher telling him that the bookstore he was going to give a reading and book signing in that night had been robbed. They would have to reschedule. He hung up the phone.

"Don't tell me someone else died," Sophie said, rolling her eyes.

"No, no. I was going to have a book signing in a bookstore tonight but it was robbed… so I'm free," he told her as he walked back over to the couch.

"That's terrible," she said with a huge grin. He returned her smile.

"Would you like to go out for dinner?"


	2. Chapter 2

"I would love to," she replied, happier than ever about the bookstore robbing. She felt terrible about her selfishness, but she hadn't seen Robert for a month and it had been one month too long. She stood and slipped on her sexy heels (ones she would not have normally chosen for a 3 hour flight). Robert followed her action by grabbing his tweed jacket and soon they were out the door. As they walked along the cobblestone sidewalk, Sophie was perfectly comfortable in her loose shirt and jeans. It was quite warm. She watched Robert struggle to take off his jacket and walk at the same time. She laughed at the ridiculousness and stopped to wait for him.

"Thank you," he mumbled as he folded the jacket over his arm. As they continued walking, the brush of his hand against hers particularly bothered Sophie. Finally, after their hands had had several swift encounters she grabbed his and weaved her delicate fingers between his thick ones. Nervously, she glanced up at him and saw a faint smile on his lips. She turned away and was content now with her decision to hold his hand.

"Is here alright?" he asked her, pointing to a small sidewalk café ahead.

"Oui," she replied with indifference. She really didn't care where they ate as long as Robert was there. They stepped in and Sophie took over. She asked for a table in her best Italian and Robert didn't have to say a word.

"Thanks," Robert said to her once they were sitting. Sophie was pleased that her talents were useful. She smiled timidly and looked down at her menu. They were silent until they had ordered and even then it took the bolder one to start a conversation.

"So, Robert Langdon, why aren't you married?" Sophie asked him. As soon as it slipped out she was embarrassed. She hadn't meant to imply that he looked old or that he should be married, it was just that he was obviously quite a bit older than her and it seemed odd that such a sweet, intelligent man would not be taken. Of course, she would never say that so the question would have to come across as rude.

"Oh, Jesus… I really need to stop saying that," he began uncomfortably as Sophie giggled and sipped her cappuccino. "Um… Well, I don't know. I'm busy. I don't get out much. I don't meet lots of women." He looked down and poured some cream into his decaf coffee.

"Surely you've been in a serious relationship before?" Sophie pressed. She hoped she hadn't sounded too eager.

"Not for a long…_long_ time," he replied, stirring his coffee repetitively. The cream was already perfectly mixed but he continued none the less.

"Hm," she pondered aloud. She wanted more details but she would obviously have to pry them out.

"Why are _you_ single?" he asked politely. She really didn't want him to return the question, but rather keep talking about himself.

"Well, same reasons. I am a busy, busy girl, Professor," she stated. Short and sweet. She prayed it hadn't been too flirtatious.

"Perfect," he said under his breath. She couldn't help but reveal an enormous grin. "You should teach me some French," Robert suggested, seemingly unaware that she had heard. She sighed, but could not help that the conversation was taking a different path than she had planned.

"You must know some," she insisted. She hated men who were obsessed with the fact that she was French or thought that her accent was sexy. She hoped Robert was attracted to her for other reasons, if he was attracted to her at all.

"Parlez-vous francais? Bonjour, bonsoir, merci, s'il vous plait. That's about it," he admitted.

"Well then I suggest you add parelz-vous anglais to your impressive vocabulary," she suggested. Americans, in general, were not well rounded at all. At times it disgusted her. However, Robert was smart. He was very smart. And she knew that. He laughed and she laughed with him. "C'est parfait," she said quietly.

"What's that mean?" he asked. He seemed fully interested.

"It's perfect," she replied. She couldn't look at his face. She was too scared to see his reaction. Had she looked, she would have seen a very surprised, taken aback Robert.

"C'est parfait," he repeated quietly. She looked up at him and neither said a word.

In Sophie's discomfort she said, "Your accent is horrible!" She giggled and he laughed a bit as well before looking back down at his coffee.

"I know, I know," he said sounding a bit ashamed.

"But not bad for an American, "she added hoping to make him smile again. They both laughed loudly before settling down to their coffees again. "Robert, you know almost everything about me, but I know practically nothing about you," she prodded again.

"There's not a lot," he said with modesty. _Just say it! _she thought. But she calmly kept trying.

"Well tell me anyway. Tell me something."

"I live a pretty lonely life in Cambridge, Massachusetts with the occasional lonely trip to New York or Paris… or Florence."

"Aw, so sad," Sophie said putting on her best pouting face. He laughed a little.

"What about you? I don't know a lot about you other than your…lineage."

"Well… I live in Paris, I have an apartment looking out over Luxembourg Gardens, and I am a cryptologist. I go to work, solve puzzles, go home, solve puzzles, and sleep." She wanted more than anything to sound interesting but she knew that she couldn't lie. Then their dinner was served. They both took a bite immediately.

"Was it easy to get a week off work for this?" Robert questioned after swallowing.

"I haven't taken a vacation since I started there. It was easy to get a week off," she explained. She, as well as Robert, was more comfortable with the facts rather than the feelings even if it meant admitting she was a workaholic.

"Good. Bon," Robert attempted

"Oui. C'est delicieux, ce pate! Et toi? Qu'est-ce que tu pense que ton pate, Robert?" Sophie asked, playing along.

"You've lost me," he admitted. She laughed. He was adorable.

"How is your pasta?" she translated.

"Fabulous. It's just not like this anywhere else," he said with satisfied look on his face. "Where did you learn English?" he added after a few more bites in silence.

"I began learning in primary school and studied a lot in… high school you call it? And in college I majored in English, though I took many other foreign language classes. English was my favorite and I figured the most useful considering so many countries speak it."

"Wow, Its almost perfect," he admired.

"Thank you," she said, hoping again that she was not blushing.

"Not that almost perfect is a bad thing. I like your accent." He glanced up at her quickly before averting his eyes back to his dinner. She smiled, laughing at him a bit. _Americans,_ she thought, but she couldn't help thinking it was cute. At the first sign that it was once again her turn to start a conversation she tried again.

"Really, honestly… How long ago was it? Your last relationship?"

"I must have been… oh, God, this is so embarrassing." he said, wiping his mouth with the red cloth napkin resting on his lap.

"Tell me. I'll tell you," she offered hopefully.

"You tell me first," he said, smiling a bit.

"Alright. I was 26 when I broke up with him. We dated for about a year," she said.

"OK. See, but that's not bad."

"Robert, please tell me," Sophie begged, a little irritated.

"I was…35. And we were engaged, but then I found out she had been cheating on me for half of the time we were together with another teacher at the university. Anyway, it broke my heart and I just wasn't really able to forget it for a while. It's hard when you're so sure of something but you find out its not the truth."

"I know," she said, recalling that day a month ago when her whole world was turned upside-down.

"You do," he said with understanding in his voice. She looked back down at her pasta but didn't take a bite. She sipped her cappuccino. She wondered if he was single because he was still in love with his ex-fiancé. She wanted to cry. She had been so sure that something could… _would_ happen between them on this trip.

"Sophie, I'm completely over it now," he said shyly. She looked back up at him, relieved and smiled slightly.

"OK," she whispered. He rested his hand over hers on the table and rubbed it soothingly. Then the waiter brought the check. Sophie left his hand to search through her purse for her wallet. When she found it, she handed some Euro to Robert.

"No," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"I insist," she said flatly. He sighed and took them from her but did not set them by the bill. Instead, he confiscated it into the depths of his tweed jacket and produced his own Euro to pay.

"Robert!" she scolded. Behind the angry tone, she was quite pleased with his new way of solving a tiresomely old problem of gender roles.

"Shhh… I'll give it back to you once we are out of the restaurant and you wont be able to sneak in your money," he promised. She pouted while he stood and pushed in his wicker chair. "Come on." She stood.

"Well, if you insist. Thank you," she said politely. When they were back out on the lamp lit sidewalk, he handed her money back to her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where to?" he asked, not really knowing where to walk.

"Je ne sais pas. Where would you like to go?" she asked folding her arms tightly. He could tell she was cold so he put his jacket on her shoulders. "Merci," she said with a small smile. Somehow, the bed situation back at the hotel popped into his head again. She looked up at him, waiting, and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing. He wanted to kiss her right there under the moonlight on the beautiful cobblestone sidewalk but he was unsure of what she would think of that and way too shy to find out. They ended up walking on autopilot back to the hotel for lack of a better suggestion. This worried Robert. He wasn't sure what he would do once they arrived back in their room. He had avoided thinking about it.

"Is there really nothing we can do but go back?" he asked, immediately realizing how terrible it must have sounded even before Sophie turned to him in confusion. "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I just meant there must be something else we can do. It would be fun to stay out," he lied, yawning. He was actually very exhausted. 15 hours on a plane and the coffee he drank at dinner happened to be decaffeinated. Sophie pulled out her cell phone from a special pocket in her purse and checked the time.

"It's eleven, Robert. I've had a semi-long flight and you've had a painfully long one. I'm a little tired. But we have the whole week to do fun things. We can stay out tomorrow night," she suggested. And he knew she was right. He could tell how tired he was by looking at the dark circles under her eyes and multiplying them by 10.

"Yeah…OK," he agreed, giving in. There was no other excuse left and he knew he would have to face the problem sooner or later.

So they walked back to the hotel and took the elevator, much to Robert's dismay. He closed his eyes and prayed for the ride to be over as his palms began to sweat and his heart began to beat quickly.

"Robert?" Sophie questioned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah… fine," he mumbled as he gripped the wooden railing behind him. He began to breathe more heavily than usual and felt like sitting down.

"Robert, no you're not. What's wrong?" she asked as the elevator dinged and the doors disappeared into the wall.

"I'm fine," he said stepping out in front of her. "Sorry," he added for his rudeness.

"For what?" she asked, but he didn't answer with more than a shake of his head.

Robert unlocked the door to their hotel room and they stepped inside. Sophie flipped the light switch, illuminating the rich colors of the walls and furniture. Not knowing what to do with himself, Robert sat down on the couch and waited for a cue from Sophie. She sat down next to him, right next to him, making his every muscle tense up. _What now?_ he wondered. He watched her slip off her shoes and lean back, making herself comfortable on the loveseat.

"Robert? I know you're tired and probably want to go to sleep but," she began. Robert couldn't believe what she was about to say. Or what he thought she was about to say. "Is it alright if…" she continued, all the while he thought, _Oh, God yes. _"…I take a shower? I usually shower at night and I feel disgusting from the plane ride. Would that keep you awake?"

"Oh, no. Of course you can. Go ahead," he said, masking his disappointment.

"Thank you," she replied. She hopped up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Robert decided that was definitely not an invitation for him to join her. He also rose from his spot on the couch to change into his blue plaid pajama bottoms and a white tee-shirt. He heard the shower turn on and really couldn't help picturing her in there. _Robert, stop. Grow up,_ he told himself. He flipped on the tv to distract himself and noticed how in Italian all the words flowed together so he couldn't pick them out and decipher a single sentence. He was quite frustrated and ready to turn off the tv, when Sophie emerged from the bathroom in a short white towel and soaking hair, steam from the water following her. Her makeup was gone, but to Robert she was just as beautiful.

"I forgot clothes," she explained as she one handedly unzipped her suitcase while holding her towel with the other. As she dug through for something to wear, Robert wished her statement had been entirely literal.

"There are complementary bathrobes in the closet in the bathroom. They're pretty nice," he informed her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"OK," she said, forgetting the pajamas and returning to the bathroom for a bathrobe. Though he would have rather watched the bathroom door, he turned back to the tv as he waited. Soon after, Sophie stepped out of the bathroom once again and joined Robert on the couch. He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she was, but refrained. Instead he greeted her with a smile and she returned it.

They watched tv for a while and a few times Sophie laughed out loud. Robert was jealous of her understanding but knew he would way rather watch her laugh than watch tv any day. After about a half an hour, Sophie shifted closer to him on the couch and made herself comfortable leaning against him. He looked down at her, smiling to himself, and put his arm around her. She yawned and eventually stopped laughing at the television. Robert was about to ask her if the program they were watching was a drama, but then he looked down at her again and noticed closed eyes.

"Sophie?" he whispered. Nothing. She was asleep. He lifted her gently and carried her to the bed. She awoke as he moved her suitcases from the mattress to the ground.

"Robert?" she groaned, sleepily. He looked up to acknowledge her. "Are you sure you don't want the bed?" It wasn't the bed he wanted.

"No, it's fine, Sophie. You can take the bed," he reassured her, showing off his gentleman side.

"No, Robert," she said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. "This was your exciting trip and you should get the nice bed."

"Sophie, really, it's ok. I _want_ you to have the bed," he said, trying to convince her.

"I want _you_ to have the bed. Don't be difficult, Robert."

"I could say the same to you," he laughed. She laughed too.

"Come here," she said.

"I'm right here."

"No. Come here." He stepped closer to her.

"Yes?" She stood up and looked up at him. She bit her lip and set her hands on his chest. "Sophie?" he asked.

"Robert?" He wasn't sure what to say or do. He didn't want to ruin anything. They were so close to kissing. So close. And then he kissed her forehead. She sighed and gave him a big hug. "Robert, just… I'm going to sleep on the couch," she said as she released her arms. He reluctantly did the same.

"You don't have to. Really. Take the bed," he tried.

"You're not a very good salesperson, Professor," she joked as she walked over to the couch.

"Get off that couch…or I'll call the police," he threatened. She began laughing hysterically.

"And tell them what, Robert?" she questioned smartly.

"I'm not sure," he said quietly.

"Get to bed. You need some rest," she said, turning off the light. He sighed and climbed into the king size bed. _Should I ask her to come in with me?_


	4. Chapter 4

Robert was impossible. Sophie was getting sick of waiting for him to make a move. She couldn't even sleep because she was so frustrated with him. She knew he wanted at least half of what she wanted which was to be more than friends on this vacation, if not afterwards. Sophie had never been a shy girl, but somehow she had been holding back tonight. She didn't want to seem desperate for him, but at the same time, she was just tired of the whole situation. She only wanted to be able to kiss him. For tonight, that was all she asked.

Sophie stood up from the couch and made her way to the bed.

"Sophie?" Robert asked. She ignored him and climbed up next to him on the bed. "Sophie, you can have the bed…" Robert began, but he was unable to finish his sentence.

"It's not a wonder you are single, Professor," she said sarcastically.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. She answered him with a kiss. He returned the kiss and pulled her closer.

"Sophie," he repeated in a whisper. She rubbed her nose against his and tried to kiss him again. "Sophie…" He sounded uncomfortable.

"What?" she asked, feeling her face become hot with embarrassment. Had she made a mistake? Was this not what he wanted?

"Sophie…I just… I don't know," he admitted. She looked away and felt like crying. She had just made a fool out of herself and perhaps even ruined a possible friendship. "I… You do realize that I'm at least 15 years older than you?" he asked her. "And I could be your… uncle?" he added. "How old are you?"

"28," she replied. Even if he thought the age gap was a problem, she knew that his age was one of the things that attracted her to him. He was mature and he was a gentleman. She liked that.

"Oh, Jesus… sorry, sorry. No pun intended…" he said. She sighed and wanted to tell him how unfunny that was. 'I'm 42…43 in a month."

"But you are not my uncle."

"I know. It was just a comparison to put it in perspective. Nevermind. Anyway, I could even be your father. I was almost 15 when you were born and…" he frantically tried to explain.

"Robert, do you care about me?" Sophie interrupted. He paused.

"Well, yes. _Yes. _ Oh God, yes."

"And I care about you. Just because you're older doesn't mean it's incest," she pointed out. He said nothing so she added, "And don't act as if you invited me here without any intention of _at least _kissing me."

"Well, I won't deny it. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"I know. And its ok with me. Is it ok with you?" she asked, smiling.

"It's fine with me," he said, twirling her hair around his index finger.

"Alright, then. May I resume?"

"Please do." She kissed him again and they did not part for quite some time and when they did, Sophie felt happier than she had been for a very long time. Her life had always been somewhat lonely without a family and without a boyfriend. Things were really starting to look up for her.

"Shall we sleep now?" she asked, knowing he was exhausted. She was tempted to go further, but she knew it was not the time.

"Do we have to?" he asked as he yawned. Then he smiled at her and nodded. "Alright."

She snuggled up beside him and joined him under the covers. With their arms around each other, they fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

As Robert awoke, he could hardly believe his eyes. Of course, he remembered what had happened the previous night but it was a new day and his astonishment that she, Sophie Neveu, was _actually_ asleep next to him, was renewed. Her hair was dry now and covering her face. He brushed it off and smiled. He was thrilled that she felt the same way about him as he did about her.

Slowly, her eyes opened and she blinked several times before giving him a long, hard look. Then she smiled.

"Good morning," Sophie whispered. She coughed a bit to clear her throat.

"Good morning," he whispered back as he kissed her cheek. She giggled, showing her perfectly white teeth. Robert assumed she went through the braces process during her school years. Unfortunately, his parents wouldn't pay for braces so he had to do it after college when he could afford it. Because of this, he was glad he had met Sophie much, much later. He smoothed his hair down and could feel the grease building up. He was embarrassed that she was seeing him like this. "I need to shower."

"No, don't. Not right now," she said closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him. "I'm comfortable." She obviously didn't care about his cleanliness, at least not at that moment.

"Are you hungry? I could order room service…" Robert asked. He received no answer. "Sophie… I really don't understand why we can't look at any art. I mean, we are in Florence and I'd really like to see The Last Supper. Who knows if I'll ever be in Florence again…"

"Silence drives you crazy doesn't it?" Sophie guessed as she tried not to laugh. He sighed. Silence _did_ drive him crazy. He was never sure what to do in a quiet situation and they always felt extremely awkward to him.

"Sorry." She shook her head.

"Don't be," she said softly, touching his cheek. "And I would love to see The Last Supper. When I said no art I only meant I don't want to spend all of my time in a museum."

"OK. Well we don't have to. I just thought we could rent a car and drive to Milan today… have a picnic? Of course, I understand if you don't want to think about… that. We don't have to."

"That sounds like fun," she said. And then she laughed. "This is what it is going to be like with you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was a little embarrassed and worried that she thought he would rather see The Last Supper than spend time with her.

"No, it's OK. It's cute," she assured him. " Do you have a lot of art in your house?"

"Well… I have some art, yes. It's expensive though so it's going to take a while to fill my house up." He was a bit ashamed.

"Honey, I'm not making fun of you. I just wondered," she said lovingly. She kissed his cheek. _Honey?_ This was Robert's most amazing vacation in a long time. He looked stunned and she laughed at him. "Are you alright? You're acting strange."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm great," he said, in-hailing deeply. "How are you?" He didn't want to be rude by not asking, but she laughed pretty hard.

"I'm great also," she said with a wide smile. She looked at him and began laughing again.

"What?" he asked, laughing a little as well. He couldn't help it. Her adorable giggle was contagious.

"Nothing, nothing," she said, looking down and biting her lip.

"So…do you want breakfast?" he asked. He felt like he was 15 again. He was making so many mistakes.

"You _are_ an early bird, aren't you?" she giggled.

"I guess… I can't help getting up early. I like to read the paper before going to work so I usually get up at 5:30," he admitted.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "Yes, if you want to order room service I'll have something."

"OK," he said getting up to bring the menu back to bed. He sat back down and they unfolded the menu together.

"Need any translations?" she asked. He shook his head, feeling more and more like a child every minute. "OK," she said turning back to the menu. "Alright, je vais prendre un salad des fruits et un café, s'il vous plait," she told Robert as she pointed to the items to avoid a translation.

"OK," he said, picking up the phone. He felt like eggs and bacon. A big, hearty, American breakfast was exactly what he needed to start off the day. He called room service, placed the order in his best Italian, which was terrible, and settled back down next to Sophie. He had so many things he wanted to talk about and ask but he was worried it was too soon to interrogate her. He wanted to know if he was right about where Mary Magdalene was buried, but he knew it wasn't any of his business. He wanted to know if she had become part of the Priory. He wanted to know if she was under pressure to have children to continue the legacy. He wanted to know if her family would be alright with the enormous age gap. He wanted to know if she wanted their relationship to last as long as "the meeting families" stage. He knew he was way ahead of himself.

"What are you thinking about?" Sophie asked, looking up at him. She repositioned herself to resting her head on his shoulder.

"Nothing. I just have so many things I want to talk to you about," he said, smiling back at her.

"Go ahead," she said.

"Sophie, I wouldn't want to…stress you out. You've had a hard enough time and I wouldn't want to make you relive it or talk about it or anything."

"Well it was certainly odd when I found out but it was not painful if that is what you mean. Certainly, I was shocked, but my life hasn't changed at all. My grandfather dieing was the only hard part for me. You can ask me. I'm not fragile anymore," she assured him.

"OK. Well I don't know. Are you a member of the Priory now?" he asked.

"Well yes and no. They protect me and that is all. I don't participate in any of their rituals if that's what you mean," she teased.

"That's not even what I was thinking," he said, even though that was exactly what he was thinking. He was relieved.

Then their room service arrived. Robert answered the door and tipped the man generously. He brought the food over to the bed where the two ate. After their delicious meal, Robert showered. As he scrubbed his hair with the hotel's complimentary two in one shampoo conditioner, he looked at Sophie's products sitting on the shelves on the shower wall. Though all of the bottles were in French, he could read some of it. He saw the cognate "rose" written in fancy cursive on her body wash and smiled to himself. _What a coincidence._


	6. Chapter 6

As Robert showered, Sophie got dressed and put on her makeup. She took extra time picking the perfect outfit of a knee-length summery skirt and a blue tank top. She didn't usually like to wear the particular tank top she chose because it had a more revealing neckline than she usually liked, but she decided she could handle it that day. She wanted to look as best as she could for Robert and she found it to be the most fitting for a picnic. She added two modest pearl earrings and a delicate silver necklace holding a matching pearl. She brushed her hair and spent a considerable amount of time adjusting herself in the mirror.

When Robert opened the bathroom door, she turned around and smiled at him. He was dressed in the same sort of thing he always wore. He had put on a deep green button up shirt and khaki pants held up but a brown leather belt. And of course, he didn't forget his tweed suit jacket.

"Do you ever wear anything casual?" Sophie asked, laughing.

"This isn't casual?" he asked, looking down. _Maybe it's his age, _Sophie thought. She tried to picture him in jeans and a tee-shirt and couldn't do it anyway.

"Not really. But it's ok. It looks good. Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then don't worry about it," she said, walking closer to him. She kissed him lightly and weaved her fingers into his. "Ready to go?" She saw his eyes dart quickly to her chest and back to her face.

"Yeah," he said, raising his eyebrows. "Why not?" She giggled and they left their room, taking the _stairs_ down to the lobby. Sophie asked the man at the front desk where they could rent a car and he gave her directions. So they followed them to a Hertz rental facility a few blocks down where Sophie took over once more with her exceptional Italian. They rented a blue Smartcar, bought a map, went to a crocery store for their picnic food, and were on their way with Robert in the driver's seat.

"Do you listen to music, Robert?" Sophie asked as she leaned forward to turn on the radio. She flipped the dial, trying to find a French station.

"Yeah, do you?" he asked, concentration on the road.

"Oui," she replied.

"What...kind?" he asked.

"Well… I like a lot of different kinds. I listen to a lot of different genres of French music and American music. I don't usually listen to Italian music, but I guess we are not close enough to France to get anything but that," she said, turning the radio off again. She reached down by her feet and took out her purse. She opened it and pulled out a CD. "I have a mix CD that I made with iTunes. Would it be alright if I put it in?"

"Yeah! Go for it," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know what's on it so don' laugh at me, Professor," she said laughing at herself. He smiled as she inserted the CD. The first song was Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado.

"Sorry," Sophie said, extremely embarrassed. She changed the song. "They play it in all the clubs."

"Oh, God. You really are way younger than me aren't you?" Sophie didn't answer this rhetorical question. The next song was Please Forgive Me by David Grey.

"I like this one," she commented, turning the volume knob to the right.

"Hey, I know this song!" Robert shouted when the singing began. She laughed.

"_Do_ you?"

"Yeah! I love his CD!" he said turning to her.

"I do too," she said looking over at him. He was singing along. And it was very out of tune.

"_Feels like lightning running through my veins _

_Every time I look at you. _

_Ah, ah,_

_Every time I look at you."_

"What else do you listen to?" she asked, giggling. He was adorable.

"Uh… I don't know. Pretty much anything. I'm probably quite out of the loop though, if you know what I mean." She didn't and her face showed it. "Oh…uh out of the loop means…I guess you don't know what is going on," he tried to explain. She nodded. They drove on and ended up in Milan within two hours. Robert parked the blue Smartcar on the street and they followed the map to the Santa Maria delle Grazie. Sophie took Roberts hand as they walked inside the church. "It's in the dining room," Robert said.

"OK," Sophie said taking an informational pamphlet by the door. She looked around the dining room and pointed straight ahead. They walked into another room and there it was. She gazed at the large fresco in wonder. It was beautiful. She looked to Robert who seemed to be analyzing it rather than in awe. "Don't you feel incredibly meaningless when you look at things like this?" Sophie asked him.

"Yeah," Robert replied. "You shouldn't though."

"I still do. Just because I'm a…" She paused and glanced around. She then whispered, "…a descendent, doesn't mean I was there or I am a great person with great ideals."

"I think you are," he said, turning to her with a smile. She looked down and blushed. He was so perfect.

"Thank you, Robert." She turned back to the fresco and her eyes were fixated on Mary Magdalene. She then turned to Jesus. _Why keep it a secret?_ She turned again to Robert who was bending over to admire the brush strokes from a closer view. She wanted to announce the secret to the world with him. A month ago, when they had been convicted of murder, she had been scared to death. And, yet, it was a real adventure. She wanted to have another adventure and share it with Robert.

"Alright. Well…I could really look at this all day, but I'd rather spend some time with you." Robert said, walking closer to her. He gave her an infamous kiss on the forehead, sending nervous shots of adrenaline through her entire body.

"OK," was all she could say. They left the church (stopping at the car for their picnic supplies) and walked to a nearby park engulfed in very green grass. Robert set out a sheet they had stolen from the hotel and Sophie sat down on it with a plastic bag full of snack foods. Robert joined her and they ate salami sandwiches with cheese and crackers, grapes, and champagne.

They talked and laughed and Sophie began to feel very nervous. She wanted a relationship with Robert more than anything, but at the same time couldn't stand the thought of her heart being broken. She had lost so many people dear to her heart and never wanted it to happen again. For now, she was blissfully happy, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help thinking about how many ways her heart could be torn apart in this situation. _He's too old for you and you live on completely different continents!_


	7. Chapter 7

thanks everyone so much for reviewing! i promise to keep updating. i have most of it written actually. its just a matter of going back and editing it before i put it here. thanks again!

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Sophie was gorgeous. She was funny too. And smart and sexy and sweet and perfect for Robert. He couldn't help thinking about how great she would look in white with a modest diamond ring on her finger. He shook the picture out of his head. _It's entirely too soon to even be considering that, _he scolded himself. But she really was beautiful. He wanted to take her back to Cambridge with him so badly. She leaned in and rubbed her nose against his. He was about to close his eyes and let her kiss him, but then he saw a familiar silhouette a few yards away underneath a tree. The figure looked up from a large text and bit her pencil.

"Robert? What is it?" Sophie asked.

"Oh… oh, God," Robert mumbled. _Of all places, why is she right here right now?_

"What?" Sophie asked again.

"Uh…" Robert said as he watched the woman walk over to their blanket.

"Robert!" the woman giggled happily. Sophie turned to have a look. It was Vittoria Vetra.

"Vittoria!" Robert exclaimed, trying not to sound like he was faking happiness. Sophie looked at him with a very desperate, confused look on her face.

"Are you here for the conference as well?" Vittoria asked.

"In Florence?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, what a coincidence!" He wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"They asked for a representative from CERN to speak about the incident and the antimatter a couple years. They sent me. And the lovely people in my office got confused and booked a hotel room for me in Milan," she said, laughing a little. Robert forced a laugh. "What are you speaking about?"

"Well… just my new book. It's about the sacred feminine and… it's really pretty boring," he said, avoiding a conversation as much as possible. He knew it wasn't boring. He was interested enough to write a book about it. Actually, he found it fascinating. And then he remembered that day. That one full day in the hotel room with Vittoria. She had been amazing. More amazing than any of Robert's past partners. She certainly took the cake.

"I'm sure it's anything but," Vittoria assured him. She then looked at Sophie.

"Oh, sorry. This is Sophie…" _Should I say my girlfriend? Shit. _He knew this would come up sooner or later but he didn't know that the awkwardness of the situation would double from Vittoria's presence. He decided to go for it. "…my girlfriend," he added quickly. Sophie blushed and smiled at him. Then she looked back at Vittoria.

"Ah," Vittoria said with a forced smile. Robert noticed Sophie's smile fade. He sighed, knowing she wasn't an idiot. She had figured it out. "Nice to meet you. I'm Vittoria, an old friend of Robert's."

"Nice to meet you," Sophie said politely.

"Well, I have to get back to my hotel and finish reading through this. I'll see you at the conference." Vittoria smiled and walked away. Robert sighed again and rubbed his forehead, waiting for Sophie to drill every last detail out of him.

"How do you know her?" she asked as soon as Vittoria was out of hearing distance.

"Do you recall hearing on the news about the bomb in the Vatican?"

"Yes."

"Well… we were both there… trying to figure out where it was hidden."

"Oh. Well I'm glad you found it. I wouldn't want you to be dead right now," she said smiling innocently. Robert felt terrible. He wanted to tell her the truth but she seemed satisfied with so little information that it was hard for him to come out with it. She kissed him. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about it. He wouldn't have to think about it until the conference day came. Hopefully, he wouldn't even have to talk to Vittoria; there would be so many people there.

They spent most of the day in the park and drove home after watching the sunset. They had kissed a lot. A lot more than they ever had, that is. Robert really felt something for Sophie. Something special. He would have said he was falling in love, but a small voice in the back of his head told him otherwise. He wanted the feeling to go away and leave him alone. There was nothing wrong with Sophie. Sophie was perfect. She was everything Robert had ever hoped for in a woman and more. She continued to amaze him with every giggle and every kiss. However, he couldn't help being reminded continuously of Vittoria.


	8. Chapter 8

Sophie sat on the bed in her boxer shorts and a tank top. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she was doing a Sudoku puzzle in the newspaper. Robert lay next to her in one of the complementary hotel robes reading through his speech for the conference that would be taking place the following day. She was comfortable not only because of the down comforter and pillows, but with Robert. She turned to him and watched him scribble sentences out and rewrite them with his black ink pen. He bit the tip of the pen while he continued reading. Then he turned to her with a blank expression on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, setting down the paper and snuggling up against him. He sighed.

"Nothing. I don't even know. I'm just a little nervous about the conference," he said looking anywhere but into her eyes. This bothered Sophie because she knew something wasn't right, but she said nothing more. She thought of the woman in the park, but found that match highly unlikely. She was way younger than Robert and the age gap seemed to really bother him. She doubted younger women were a recurring aspect of Robert's life. Also, he hadn't mentioned a recent relationship and she was obviously not the woman he had been engaged to. She was certain Robert wouldn't lie to her. And why get so upset out of nowhere? She didn't want to make stories up and look paranoid and overbearing in their first week together. He had called her his girlfriend and that made her smile. That was enough for Sophie, or so she tried to tell herself.

She kissed his forehead and he smiled at her. _Why couldn't he just live in Paris? France, at least._ She sighed and went back to her Sudoku puzzle. _Am I invited to the conference?_ she suddenly wondered.

"What am I going to do tomorrow while you're speaking?" Sophie questioned.

"Uh… I don't know," Robert said keeping his eyes on his manuscript.

"Can I come?" she asked.

"Oh…" He flipped through the pages that lay in front of him and scribbled some more sentences out.

"Robert?"

"Oh, yeah. Of course. It's going to be really long though. We would have to leave here at 10 because it is a one hour drive to the auditorium and then there is a practice sort of run through thing and then we would be there listening to it until about five. There's going to be a break between one and two for lunch and so I guess we wont be sitting there the whole time, but then there are these other college professors…we do a lot of these things together… they're going to want to go out afterwards and get a drink but then we will end up going to an Italian restaurant (its always Italian even when we aren't in Italy) and I'll be obligated to stay until about eight or nine. So really, we wont get back here until ten or later. So it'll be about a twelve-hour ordeal. You might not want to come," he said, shuffling through his papers.

"What else would I do? You won't be here and I'd be bored out of my mind. Do you want me to stay?" Sophie asked. He seemed to be exaggerating quite a bit.

"Of course not. I'd love you to come," he said smiling. "I'm just warning you. It won't be fun." Sophie thought of the woman in the park again. She would be at the conference.

"I'll go," she said confidently.

"Alright!" he said smiling. He kissed her forehead and set his papers down on the bedside table.

"I'm going to go shower." Sophie got up and walked into the bathroom. As she undressed herself, she thought. She couldn't get her mind off of the woman at the park. Though she knew and told herself over and over again that Robert would never lie to her and had already proved to be a very trustworthy man, something didn't feel quite right about their interaction. She pulled the shower knob to the left and the water began to fall. She stepped in and wetted her hair. Robert was acting very strange. Very strange, indeed.


	9. Chapter 9

The two woke up at eight thirty and Robert kissed Sophie on the cheek before jumping into the shower. Without a word, he was up and in the bathroom behind the closed door. He was incredibly nervous today and not because of his speech; he practically made a speech every day in a classroom full of about fifty twentysomethings. No, today he was nervous because Vittoria would be there. He sighed at the thought of her. They really had chemistry and in one day were brought together in a bond that would usually take years for a couple to achieve. And yet, Sophie was in the next room sitting in his bed. She was beautiful and smart and everything a man could ever ask for. But so was Vittoria. Robert scolded himself for even thinking of her, but he couldn't help it. It had ended so abruptly. He flew home and she waved to him in the airport. She went home as well. He waited for her to call because he had been too nervous to do so himself, but she never did. And that was the end of it. They never met in Paris, like they had planned. She never came to visit him in Cambridge. He never went back to CERN. He now questioned if there was a possibility that she to had been too nervous to call also.

Maybe it was better that he was with Sophie because she was more outspoken and certainly more outgoing. Someone would have to do the talking and he knew it usually wasn't him. Vittoria was too much like him, quiet and shy, but he loved her for it. He missed her a lot and though his mind had taken a detour since he met Sophie, his thoughts of her were slowly coming back. Now that he was reminded, he couldn't keep her off of his mind.

He finished his shower and dressed himself. They barely spoke as they got ready for the conference. Sophie broke the silence.

"Robert, what's on your mind? Something is obviously bothering you." _ Is it? Shit._

"No, Sophie. I'm just a little nervous. That's all," he lied. He smiled at her and she smiled back and then turned away. "We need to go," Robert said looking at his Mickey Mouse watch.

"OK," she agreed. They hailed a cab and took the hour drive to the college auditorium where the conference was being held. They stepped out into the warmth of the sun and Robert paid the driver. They walked to the entrance and there were a few people standing around in suits with bottles of water. Robert took a deep breath as he scanned the room for Vittoria. And there she was, in the first row of red seats, reading over a pile of crisp white papers. She looked up and they locked eyes. Robert quickly turned away and took Sophie with him backstage. There was a group of old men whom acknowledged Robert with smiles and nods. He walked over to join their conversation and Sophie followed him.

"Hey," Robert said as he smiled at them all. "Sophie, these are some of my colleagues. We do a lot of these conferences together." He motioned to a balding, short man with enormous round spectacles. "This is Ralph Hodges, a grail expert and journalist for National Geographic." Then he turned to a dark haired, tall man with exceptionally white teeth. "This is James Cadeau, an art history professor from France." The third was a man about Robert's age with blonde-going-gray hair. "And this is Thomas Richards, a historian from New York City."

"Hello," Sophie said. "It's very nice to meet all of you."

"Sophie Neveu, right? I know you," James, the French professor said.

"Do you?" Sophie asked, getting a little nervous. He was from France and had probably seen her all over the news a month ago.

"Yes. Aren't you wanted for murder? Robert was as well…"

"Oh, no. That was all a big mistake. I'm innocent and so is Robert," she explained.

"It was a big misunderstanding," Robert clarified.

"Ah, " James replied, sipping a glass of scotch.

"So, Sophie Neveu. Are you the daughter Robert never told us about?" Ralph asked in a thick British accent.

"No, no," Sophie laughed. "I'm too old for that."

"Hmm, well you don't look it," James said, raising his eyebrows. She blushed and looked down.

"Thank you," she said politely. All the men, excluding Robert, laughed.

"If you're not his daughter, who are you?" Ralph asked.

"She's my girlfriend." Robert gulped. He wasn't sure what these men would say. He had taken so much shit from them about Vittoria. He assumed it would be even worse this time. Sophie smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "She's a cryptographer for the police department in Paris."

"Ah, how fascinating!" Thomas exclaimed.

"It is a great job when it's not too gruesome. Forensics was never really something I saw myself being involved in, but…here I am!" Sophie said. They all laughed.

"Robert, I must ask you, how do you do it?" Ralph asked, squinting and adjusting his glasses. Robert decided to play dumb.

"How do I do what, Ralph?" he asked.

"Well… all these younger women! I think your next book should be about it. Clue the rest of us old men in!" Ralph joked. Everyone laughed except Robert. Sophie's laugh was entirely fake and Robert could tell.

"Another Vittoria Vetra!" Thomas added, laughing. The men laughed harder. Sophie didn't laugh this time.

"Gentlemen, I believe you only have two examples and…" Robert began. He didn't really know what else to say. He needed to talk to Sophie in private, but couldn't just walk away. She looked horrified. He felt terrible for not telling her. She looked at him coldly and then turned away. Robert squeezed her hand to tell her he loved her, but she pulled her hand away from his.

"You know, she's here today, Robert," Ralph said.

"I know," Robert said.

"In fact, she's right behind you," Thomas said, looking beyond Robert. Robert turned around and saw her adjusting her white button up shirt in the mirror. He gulped again and turned back to the group. Next thing he knew, Vittoria was standing next to him. She had joined the huddle.

"Hello everyone. Robert. Sophie was it?" Vittoria asked.

"Yes," Sophie replied quietly.

"How is everyone?" Vittoria asked. Before anyone answered a large security guard walked up to the group.

"Is everyone here speaking?" he asked in Italian accented English

"I'm not," Sophie said.

"You'll have to leave. You need to go sit in the audience now."

"Well, she's with me. Can she stay here?" Robert asked desperately. He felt terrible. He wanted to scoop her up and kiss her and tell her he loved her and that everything was ok. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.

"It's alright, Robert." Sophie said, following the security guard. She was gone before Robert could protest. He rubbed his forehead.

"Excuse me for a moment," Robert said before making his way down a secluded hall into the restroom. He opened the deep mahogany door and ran the faucet. He splashed cold water on his face. _Shit. I'm screwed._ The worst part was that he couldn't talk to Sophie before his speech. It would be hours before he could explain himself and he knew they would both be miserable until the problem was worked out. He hoped Sophie would forgive him. He stared at his aging reflection in the mirror. _I don't even deserve her._

Ashamed, Robert pushed open the bathroom door, but ran into Vittoria.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes.

"Yeah," he said slowly. He was panicked now.

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"I don't know. Not very long. Less than a week. But we've known each other for a month now," he replied, not knowing where the conversation was headed. It made him anxious.

"French?" she asked with anger in her tone.

"Yes…" Robert said slightly more worried now. He knew _exactly _where this was going now.

"Hm. Have you slept with her yet?"

"No…"

"When you do will you ever call her back?" He saw her eyes begin to shine with tears.

"Vittoria… is this about… us?" he asked, concerned. He offered his hand. He felt terrible. She turned away from him, pushing his hand off of her shoulder. "Vittoria…"

"Robert, am I just last years model? Was it just a meaningless one weekend affair?" she demanded.

"Vittoria… I…"

"I waited for you to call, Robert," she interrupted, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks.

"I waited for _you _to call," he said feeling helpless. Instinct told him to hold her and kiss her until she was reassured, but he couldn't do that. Not with Sophie one room away. "I didn't think it was just a meaningless one weekend affair," was all he could offer her.

"Well you could have picked up the phone _yourself_ and given me a call after I had just handed myself to you, poured myself all over you, bathed you and brought you to a warm bed and ordered you everything on the goddamn room service menu and bought you new clothes so you wouldn't have to wear that ridiculous jumpsuit and cried my eyes out after thinking you were dead," she cried.

"Vittoria…shh…" He pulled her into a hug and she allowed it this time. He now realized that he should have called and it had been his turn to make an effort. He kissed her forehead. "I definitely felt something incredible for you and maybe I should have taken the hint and called you. It was my turn. I'm sorry," he apologized. She nodded and wiped her eyes. "But Vittoria… it wouldn't have worked anyway."

"Why not?" she asked irritably.

"Well, we both have jobs that we love and neither of us would ever move. We'd only get to see each other once a year, if that," he stated.

"And Sophie would move?" she shot back.

"She may," he replied trying to stay calm. Women scared him shitless. They really seemed to like to prove everyone wrong, at least the ones he ended up being attracted to. Somehow he always found himself with the strong independent women and he didn't know why.

"Robert." She rolled her eyes. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't want to have a choice between Sophie and Vittoria because, when he was being honest with himself, he knew he couldn't make the choice. The only glimmer of hope was that Sophie could make his decision by her willingness to move to Cambridge… if she was willing at all. "You saved my life," Vittoria added quietly.

"And you saved mine." He remembered it like it was yesterday. He had chased her kidnapper through a series of dark, underground mazes that led him to the Illuminati church. The man had been about to rape her and eventually kill her. He tried to stop him, but when the man had backed him off of the balcony, Vittoria had tackled the man and pushed a torch into his face. They had been a perfect team.

Vittoria looked him up and down longingly and he could feel it coming. She kissed him. He wanted to push her away and he didn't want to kiss her back, but he placed his hands on her cheeks and returned the kiss. Finally coming to his senses, he pulled away.

"Vittoria, I can't," he said regretfully. She sighed and looked down. "Wouldn't you rather be with someone younger anyway? You're a woman of science. You know that if you're with a man even younger than you, you'll more likely die sooner to when he does. With me, you'd be left alone for almost 20 years. You don't want that," he offered. She laughed a little.

"And I suppose Sophie does?" she questioned. Robert said nothing. There was nothing _to_ say. "Robert, men tend to act even younger than they really are. I would _never_ date someone significantly younger than myself." He looked down.

"Vittoria…"

Then over the booming loudspeaker came a voice saying, "All lecturers report to your seats. We will begin in five minutes."

"Robert… I know. I know it wouldn't work and you can't right now anyway and I know I should be with someone younger, but I'll always remember you. Can't you admit that that night was…" She sighed and laughed at herself a little. "Amazing? It was surreal."

"It was," he said. "And I felt that way to." He smiled and she smiled back. She kissed him lightly and her lips trembled as she held back more tears, but she was strong so she bit her lip and the tears never came.

"OK, well… We better go to the stage."

"Wait… are you alright?" he asked concerned. He didn't want to seem inconsiderate.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know… I come over here to give you a hard time and make you feel bad, but I end up hugging you. You're too nice, Robert," she said with a bittersweet smile. He smiled too.

" I wouldn't want you to be angry with me."

"Well, you've accomplished that."

"Come on," he said as he began to walk to the stage. She followed him. They were the last ones there and he knew it looked bad. He avoided Sophie's eyes. The sat down in the back row of the lecturer's seats and the first lecturer stood.


	10. Chapter 10

never fear. you know i love sophie more. otherwise this would be angels and demons fanfiction! but i do feel bad for vittoria. she was so sweet in angels and demons:( well anyway, thank you for reviewing. you all make my day!

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She watched each of the lecturers make their way to the stage. She waited for Robert, but each suit and tie was another man. There were two empty seats in the back. Sophie wondered who else could be missing. When she scanned the rows of gray and black and brown she noticed there were no women. Vittoria was missing. A terrible worried feeling surged through Sophie, but only got worse when Vittoria and Robert walked on stage together. They sat next to each other in the back row. Sophie tried to catch Robert's attention by sitting up straight in her seat and staring at him, but she failed. The first lecturer began.

Sophie was a smart girl. She had sensed there was something more between Robert and Vittoria, but wouldn't allow herself to believe it. Now she regretted being so naïve. She tried to shrug it off for the moment and listen to the lecturer, but she couldn't. She had to know what was going on _right that second_. She stood and made her way to the women's restroom. She was the only one in there and she looked in the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, lip trembling. Sophie turned away and took a deep breath. _Everything will be fine. You haven't had a man in your life for years. Why do you suddenly need one now? _She laughed at her foolishness and tried to lie to herself. _You'll go home and everything will be back to normal, Sophie. You don't care about him anyway._

This was entirely untrue.

Regardless, she exited the women's restroom and went to the backstage security guard.

"Excuse me," she said to him in Italian. "When Robert Langdon comes out, will you give him this?"

"Si," he replied, taking a folded paper from her and stuffing it into his shirt pocket.

"Grazie," she said with a smile. She left the auditorium and hailed a cab that took her back to the hotel.


	11. Chapter 11

i present you with two chapters this time (11 and 12) because theyre kind of short. oh and wrote these in like a half an hour so i apologize for any typos. I think i caught them all, but let me know and ill fix them. i hate typos.

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As soon as the lecture was over, Robert stood up and headed for the door to the general seating in the auditorium. He had seen Sophie get up in the middle of the speeches, but couldn't do anything about it. He prayed she was only going to the restroom, but when she never returned he panicked. Much to his dismay, the security guard stopped him on his way out the door.

"Robert Langdon?" he questioned, eyeing Robert's nametag.

"Yes," Robert replied.

"I was told to give you this," he said in a thick Italian accent as he handed Robert a piece of paper. Robert gulped and took the paper, unfolding it carefully. He knew it was from Sophie. Intuition told him that. He had conflicting feelings about reading it. He had to know what it said, but he didn't want to read it because he knew whatever it said wasn't good.

"Thank you," Robert said to the man as he stepped away to have a look in privacy. He took a deep breath and read:

_ Robert,_

_ Sorry I had to leave early. I really wish I could have heard you speak, but you obviously have some things you need to work out with Vittoria. _

_ I realize that this may mean you don't want a relationship with me. Either way, I would rather not be present while you are doing this. I'll be _

_ waiting at the hotel._

_ -Sophie_

Robert sighed with relief. He knew the situation had progressed terribly wrong, but at least she wasn't gone for good. She would be waiting at the hotel where he could tell her the truth and everything would be fine. He went backstage again and returned with his briefcase. He couldn't stay for the rest of the lecture. He had far more important things to deal with.

As he waited for a taxi, Vittoria ran outside behind him.

"Robert! Wait!" she called. He turned around and was greeted with a kiss before he could say a word.

"Vittoria…"

"Robert, I know. That was the last one. I promise. And I just wanted to let you know that if Sophie ever comes to her senses, you can always come back to me because I never will." He smiled slightly and took his last look at Vittoria as he stepped into a cab.

"OK."

Little did he know that a few yards ahead of them, Sophie Neveu was in her own taxi and had seen the whole thing.


	12. Chapter 12

Sophie gasped at the sight before her and knew now that she had to be out of the hotel before Robert returned.

"I need to be there in 20 minutes. Think you can do that?"

"That's nearly half the time it usually takes!" he exclaimed. She shoved an extra 100 Euro into his hand.

"Think you can do that?" she repeated. He pressed down hard on the accelerator.


	13. Chapter 13

When Robert arrived back at the hotel, he was truthfully expecting nothing less than what he saw. He knew what had happened was terrible and he had a TON of explaining to do.

He opened the door and in the dim light he saw Sophie on the floor hugging her knees tightly with her face resting on top of them. Clothes were scattered all over the floor and her suitcase lay open. She was crying.

"Sophie," Robert said sympathetically as he closed the door. He bent down to comfort her, but she pushed him away.

"You lied to me," she said angrily. " You lied to me and cheated on me and it's only our first week together!" She stood and began to stuff clothes in her suitcase.

"What are you talking about?" Robert asked. Truthfully, he was confused. He knew that, technically, he had cheated on her, though it wasn't his fault. He just wasn't sure how she had found out. He noticed black lacy lingerie hanging out of her luggage and felt like a jerk for causing her whatever sort of emotional distress he had.

"You had a relationship with her, but failed to mention it to me for whatever reason and you KISSED her. _KISSED_ her!" Sophie yelled, eyes wide. _Oh, god. _He knew now. She saw it outside as he was getting into the cab.

"_She_ kissed _me_! Oh, God, Sophie. _She_ kissed _me_. Out of nowhere. I swear I didn't do a thing to provoke it," he said honestly. He felt absolutely terrible. _How awful she must have felt when she saw that._

"I don't want to hear it," she said quietly, as she wiped her eyes and zipped up her suitcase.

"Where are you going?" Robert innocently asked.

"Home," she sighed.

"Oh, no. Sophie, can't we talk about it? Give me a chance to explain. Oh, Jesus."

"Robert. I really don't want to waste my time with someone who is not committed to me and so I don't want to waste my time talking to you about it. There's nothing to say. You're torn between the two of us and I don't deserve that. I deserve someone who wants to be with me and only me, hands down. Excuse me," she said calmly in almost a professional tone as she picked up her luggage and brushed passed Robert to the door.

"Sophie, no! You're not wasting your time with me!" He ran in front of her, blocking the door. She sighed.

"Robert, move." He didn't budge. "Robert," she sighed with impatience. "If you don't move, I'll call the police. I want to leave NOW."

"Will you just listen to me for one goddamn second!" he shouted in frustration. She set down her suitcase with a sigh and crossed her arms. He knew it was terrible timing but she had to know. "Sophie… I love you." She looked down and avoided his eyes. "I know this is a bad time to say it, but I do. I don't care about Vittoria… and I never did to the extent that I care about you. You're… amazing. Just so amazingly perfect in every way. I really don't deserve you, but… that's what's making it so hard for me to let you walk out of this door right now." That was a mouthful for Robert. It was hard for him to say, but he hoped it was worth it.


	14. Chapter 14

Sophie took it in. She wouldn't look up. She knew she would cry if she saw Robert's face. She would give in and fall into his arms and accept his apology. She had to just take the words in and analyze them like a code without any emotions involved. _What was he really saying? Did he mean it? _At first, she thought he was entirely truthful. He had never insisted on moving things too fast between them and never once did he seem like he would rather take her clothes off than have a deep conversation. But then her mind slowly changed. _Is he playing innocent to drive me crazy?_ She had made all the moves so far. Nothing could be blamed on him because of this. _Is this his angle? His trick?_ She sighed knowing she was over evaluating the situation entirely.

"Sophie…I'm sorry," he said softly. Sophie was giving in. She looked up.

"What do you expect out of me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Where do you want this to go? Am I just this year's European weekend fling for you?"

"Oh, God, no." He looked heartbroken by the comment. "I could never just leave you, Sophie."

"Then what do you want from me?" she demanded.

"A long lasting loving relationship. I want to really try hard to make it work."

"Are we in way over our heads? I mean, there are so many things that are going to make this difficult. If its just the weekend, that's one thing, but…"

"Do you want it to be just the weekend?"

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't be, but now it seems like it's a little ridiculous to make it anything more. You live in a different country than me and we both have jobs that we love and would never leave and even if I left my job I can never see myself moving to Massachusetts and you're 15 years older than me and you've already lied to me and I think it might be better if we just have sex and go home," she said dryly. She knew it was blunt, but it was to the point. It was how she felt and she figured, at this point, she might as well just let him know.

"Sophie," Robert said sounding disappointed in her. She knew the comment had been low. It was silent for a while. "What if we alternate between Massachusetts and Paris?"

"I wouldn't be able to work," she said defensively. She was not at all a housewife and would never be like that. She was a working, independent woman and wanted to stay that way.

"Not full time at one job... but one place in Cambridge and one place in Paris. And we could go to France for a month in the winter too." It was quiet again. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I just didn't really consider it a relationship because we only knew each other for about 3 days. But I still should have mentioned it and I apologize," he added. Sophie looked at her toes. "And I can't change my age and I hate that I'm not younger like you… but I can guarantee that you'll like me better this way. I probably act the way I should have when I was 28." She laughed a little. It was true and she knew it. "The police department in Cambridge would be happy to have you… as would many other companies and businesses…and myself." She smiled. "And trust me, I really wouldn't mind the slightest bit if we took off our clothes and got in bed, but if you just went home afterwards, I'd be devastated. I can't have meaningless sex with you, Sophie. I already love you." He was so cute. She was falling in love with him too.

"Well after this trip, maybe we can start with a couple visits before moving in," she suggested, stepping closer to him.

"Of course," he said relaxing and stepping away from the door towards her. "I'd love for you to come visit me and I'd love to come visit you too… except for the getting on a plane part." She laughed and wiped some tears from her eyes. He kissed her forehead and hugged her. She looked up into his blue eyes and kissed him passionately. As their lips came together, Sophie was reminded of her immense trust in Robert. She felt safe in his arms, in his presence, and she truly did forgive him. If he said it wasn't his fault and Vittoria had kissed him, then Sophie would have to believe him. He had never done anything to loose her trust.

They parted, eyes still closed, and pressed their foreheads together.

"I love you too," she whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

alright. this chapter seems a little akward to me so im sorry about that. this was the harderst chapter for me to write so far. sorry it took a while.

* * *

Robert was in heaven. The most beautiful woman in the world, the most intelligent, sweet, and sexy woman in the world had just said I love you… to _him_. Nothing could make this moment more perfect. 

"Well… should we close the curtains?" Sophie giggled. Robert gulped.

"We could do that."

"OK," she said leaving his embrace to untie the curtains. The thick drapes fell to the floor. Sophie turned around and smiled. Robert nervously smiled back. "I think you should put something more comfortable on. Isn't your tie choking you?" she asked as she walked back over to him. She loosened his tie and giggled.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said as she unbuttoned his shirt. She looked back up and him and blushed. "This is so unlike me."

"Is it?" he asked. He didn't know what else to say, but he certainly didn't want her to stop. She just laughed. She finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off of him.

"Robert?"

"Hm?"

"I really do love you," she said, blushing. He smiled widely.

"I really do love you too," he laughed with happiness. She smiled back and kissed him. He held her tightly against him as they kissed, but then she reached for his belt buckle. He was startled.

"I'm sorry. Do you even want to…"

"Of _course_ I do. _I'm_ sorry. It's just been a while," he said, chucking a bit. She giggled.

"I know. It's better that way anyway," she said, biting her lip, as she led him to the bed by his tie. He wasn't sure why she thought it was better, but he was not going to argue with her. They fell onto the bed and kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed. Finally, Sophie jumped up and left Robert alone for a while. She grabbed her suitcase and went into the bathroom. He sat there in a daze. He was unable to believe anything that just happened or what was _about_ to happen, for that matter.

Minutes later, Sophie emerged from the bathroom in the black, lacy lingerie Robert had seen hanging out of her suitcase earlier. He inhaled deeply and tried his best to look at her face. She blushed.

"I realize it's going to sound bad if I say it right now, but you're beautiful," he said smiling. She smiled back and joined him again on the bed. "You really are," he continued as she unbuckled his belt and slid it off. "And I'm sorry I never told you that earlier." She unzipped his pants and pulled them from his legs. "You deserve better than that, Sophie."

"Shhh," she whispered, giggling. "Professor, you aren't going to talk through the whole night are you? I realize silence is uncomfortable for you, but I think you might enjoy this more if you're not concentrating on a conversation," she teased.

"Well... you're ok now? You're not mad anymore? Not even a little? Because I would understand if you were. I don't expect you to forgive me so soon," he said, a little apprehensive of her behavior. Nothing had ever been so… well… easy. Usually, when he did something wrong, women were pissed at him for _at least_ a day.

"I trust you. I believe every word you've said. You've never given me a reason do doubt you, so I'm not going to. Is that alright?" she asked smiling. He smiled back. He was glad she felt like she could trust him. He knew their trust in each other would be key to a lasting relationship.

"Yes, that's perfect. C'est parfait," he said, recalling the French she had taught him earlier. She smiled widely and kissed him.

"Nous sommes parfaites," she whispered gently in his ear. He had no clue what that meant, but he didn't need to. He could tell by the tone of her voice that it was something good and he didn't find it fitting to the mood to ask anyway. They kissed for a long while and as their bodies came together, they both knew that whatever it was going to take to make their relationship work, they would have to do it. They would never allow loosing each other to something as silly as age or residency. Though these would be factors in their futures, they seemed miniscule compared to the trust, understanding, and love they had for each other.

He didn't need another reason to love her, but that night he was given one. As the evening came to a close, Robert was more certain than ever that he had met his match.


End file.
